With a (hopefully) fully healed Jose Reyes likely to get more days off than usual next season, the importance of having a capable backup shortstop is amplified. Reyes played almost everyday from 2005-2008, so fill-ins like Damion Easley, Ruben Gotay…

Incentive bonuses based on performance, awards, or other achievements are now standard for most contracts signed by major league players. Cot’s Contracts does a great job of compiling these incentives. Note that information at Cot’s is extensive but not necessarily 100%…

Several weeks ago, I declared Francisco Rodriguez an “untouchable” member of the Mets, a player who should not be available for trade. On that day, the Mets were just twogames out of first place and the chances of the missing…

I have been writing pessimistic things about the Mets recently, so I figured I would write something positive: a look at the biggest hits of the first half of the season. To do this, I determined the top 10 most valuable…

Taking part in talk radio style trade proposals (“let’s trade Evans and Kunz for Cliff Lee”) is generally a pointless endeavor. However, given the current state of the Mets, non-depressing discussion topics are scarce. There’s only so many ways to say…

This past offseason, the Mets roster experienced significant turnover, primarily in the bullpen. The blockbuster three-team trade that brought back J.J. Putz, Sean Green, and Jeremy Reed saw the Mets ship seven major league and minor league players of varying…

I’ve read quite a few comments on various blogs along the lines of “Boy do I wish Fire Joe Morgan was still around.” FJM, as Fire Joe Morgan is affectionately known, was a blog dedicated to taking members of the mainstream…

Sean Smith, proprietor of the well-known “CHONE” projections, recently put together a historical WAR (“wins above replacement”) database at Baseball Projection which provides the WAR of every player from 1955-2008. Since the Mets have been in existence since 1962, we are…

Maybe it’s not exactly panic-worthy, but the news of Johan Santana’s elbow tightness is unsettling at the least. Especially considering the Mets’ recent mishandling of injuries. Serviceable starting rotation depth looked like a strength heading into spring training, but in the last…

There are dozens of Mets blogs and new ones pop up seemingly every week. They all provide unique perspective and vary in focus, whether it’s news reporting, opinion, statistical analysis, or general ranting about the status of the Mets. In…

Barring a significant trade or free agent signing, the Mets starting team is essentially finalized. What will the actual lineup look like? What spot in the order will Jerry Manuel bat Brian Schneider, Carlos Delgado, Luis Castillo, David Wright, Jose…

The Mets have made their mark on pop culture, including a certain Gold Glove first baseman appearing on the best sitcom of all time, a left fielder making a cameo in a Will Smith blockbuster film, and a song name…